Music Festivals in Virginia 2027: Blue Ridge Campouts, a Memorial Day Burn and Fiddles in Galax

Two farms in Virginia's southern foothills open on the same Thursday next May: a volunteer-run burn at Spirithaven Farm near Stuart, and Rooster Walk's six stages outside Martinsville. From there the year climbs to FloydFest in Floyd County, stops for fiddle contests in Galax and, going by 2026, ends in October with a Nelson County campout and free stages on Richmond's riverfront.

Bring something warm for the mountain dates. NOAA's station near the town of Floyd sits about 2,460 feet above Richmond's airport, and its July nights average roughly what Richmond's do in September.

From Spirithaven to the James: Virginia's 2027 dates and night lows

Five of these have 2027 weekends. Galax, Seven Stars and the Richmond Folk Festival were still listing their 2026 runs when we looked on October 30, 2026.

Spirithaven sits just above the North Carolina line, and our guide to North Carolina's 2027 festivals carries on south of it with MerleFest and the Shakori Hills campouts. Farther south, our Southeast music festival roundup runs from Knoxville and Atlanta to the Alabama coast.

Effigies, campgrounds and a mountain park: Virginia's overnight festivals

Ignite!: a learn 'n' burn at Spirithaven Farm (May 27–31)

Ignite! began as a Town Hall for Transformus, the Southeast's regional burn, and became an all-ages Memorial Day burn of its own: May 27–31 in 2027. By day, campers run "playforms" to teach each other skills; Saturday night is for the effigy burn and Sunday for the temple. Spirithaven Farm, in a small valley west of Stuart, has a pavilion stage at center camp, open fields and shaded tent spots. Under-5s go free with a ticket. First burn? Start with how regional burns work.

Outfit note: our two NOAA stations bracket late May, from 47.6°F on Floyd's mountain nights to 55.7°F in Richmond. Wear a cloak for the effigy burn.

Valley of the Seven Stars: three stages in the Arrington hills (2027 dates TBA)

Valley of the Seven Stars last gathered on October 9–11, 2026, at LOCKN' and Oak Ridge Farms in Arrington, south of Charlottesville. In 2026 it was 18+ and cashless, and every pass included the campground. The 2026 experience page described three main stages and more than 80 artists, plus workshops, movement classes, forest walks and a scavenger hunt, all guided by its seven pillars.

Outfit note: October nights average 49.0°F at Richmond's airport and 39.7°F at Floyd's mountain station; expect Arrington's hills to land in between. Camp in the hooded blanket and dance in the cloak.

FloydFest: four days at FestivalPark (July 22–25)

FloydFest returns July 22–25, 2027, under the name FloydFest 27~Echoes, with more than 100 artists on seven-plus stages. All camping is on site at FestivalPark, on Floyd Highway North in Check. Its campground page sorts the choices: shady Canopy Camping, Premium Creekside sites along Meadow Run Creek, mountaintop camping beside a viewing deck and stage, reached by a steep final climb, and furnished bell tents in Glamp-Camp.

Outfit note: NOAA's Floyd station averages 60.7°F on July nights, and the festival's packing list puts cool-weather clothes on it. A velvet hoodie covers the climb to the mountaintop campsites.

Fiddles and farm stages: Virginia's roots weekends

Rooster Walk: six stages at Pop's Farm (May 27–30)

Rooster Walk brings four days of music, art and the outdoors to Pop's Farm in Axton, outside Martinsville, on May 27–30, 2027. Close friends founded it in memory of Edwin "the Rooster" Penn and Walker Shank, as a celebration of life. Off the stages: healing arts and yoga, a Kids Coop and a Teen Scene.

Outfit note: late-May foothill nights fall between Floyd's 47.6°F and Richmond's 55.7°F. Joggers and a hoodie carry you to the last set.

Red Wing Roots: Red Wing XIV at Natural Chimneys Park (June 18–20)

Red Wing Roots returns to Natural Chimneys Park in Mount Solon for its 14th edition, June 18–20, 2027, with camping in the park. Its hosts are The Steel Wheels, a band formed in the Virginia mountains.

Outfit note: Floyd averages 56.1°F on June nights and Richmond 64.5°F. A tank by day, the Black Mystic Eye cloak after sundown.

Old Fiddlers' Convention: six days of contests in Galax (2027 dates TBA)

Members of Galax's then-new Moose Lodge #733 started the Old Fiddlers' Convention in the spring of 1935, and by that fall it had moved to Felts Park, its home ever since. The 90th ran August 3–8, 2026: youth competition on Monday, open contests from Tuesday. Campsites went first come, first served, and the campground stayed acoustic.

Outfit note: Galax shares the Blue Ridge Plateau with Floyd, where August nights average 58.6°F. Bring a hoodie to the late rounds.

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion: Appalachian roots on Bristol's historic streets (September 10–12)

On September 10–12, 2027, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion celebrates the Bristol Sessions' centennial with three days in a downtown shared by Virginia and Tennessee. It has run since 2001. Our Tennessee festival guide tells the Sessions story.

Outfit note: September nights average 52.1°F at Floyd's mountain station. Joggers and a cap suit the street.

Richmond Folk Festival: born from the National Folk Festival (2027 dates TBA)

The Richmond Folk Festival began as the National Folk Festival, which Richmond hosted from 2005 to 2007, and it still fills downtown's historic riverfront for three free days on six stages. Its latest edition ran October 9–11, 2026, and its program announced a tribute to R&B and neo soul singer D'Angelo from hometown friends and mentors.

Outfit note: a 49.0°F October normal on the river is cloak weather after dark.

Floyd against Richmond: a mountain station and a river city

From May to October, Virginia's mountain nights run eight to just over nine degrees cooler than its river-city nights. NOAA's Floyd 2 NE station, at 2,625 feet, averages 47.6°F on May nights against Richmond International Airport's 55.7°F, and dips to 39.7°F in October while Richmond holds 49.0°F. Afternoons differ by six to nine degrees.

Station data: Floyd 2 NE (USC00443071) and Richmond International Airport (USW00013740), NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 monthly climate normals (checked October 30, 2026). For festivals beyond Virginia, the 2027 calendar on our blog lists dates and lows together.

Indigo ridges, laurel pink, river silver: what we'd pack for Virginia

The colors come from the drive itself: indigo ridgelines at dusk, the pink of mountain laurel in late spring and the silver of the James at night. We built this Virginia edit around two cloaks, then added a velvet hoodie, joggers and a cap.

Laurel pink and indigo for Memorial Day. The Psy Swirl women's cloak ($250) carries periwinkle-blue spirals over a violet ground, with hot pink and magenta gathering toward the hem and pale turquoise across the shoulders; from the side, big spirals swell down the front panel around a pink glow. Our pick for Ignite!'s effigy night.

Practical details sit under all that color. The art covers a micro-mink polyester shell, 200 g/m², lined with fluffy microfiber faux fur: black in these photos, white if you prefer. When the effigy's heat fades, the hood's heavy drawstrings pull it close and a double zipper shuts the front. Your hands get the two deep side pockets, and your keys get the zippered one of the two inside. XS–5XL, unisex fit.

River silver for October. The Black Mystic Eye women's cloak ($250) nets charcoal black in white-silver Flower of Life circles, with three mandala medallions running down the sleeve and pale crescent arcs near the hem. Zipped, it suits a 49°F Richmond night. The same cloak goes to a desert bass festival in Brushes Down on the Last Note, our love story about a live painter.

Indigo for a July night at FestivalPark. The Galactic Alien Oracle crushed velvet pullover hoodie ($100) places a long-skulled alien oracle at the center front, framed by pale filigree arches, with small orbs scattered through the indigo, violet and lavender. Crushed velvet (95% polyester, 5% spandex, 240 g/m²) catches the stage lights. Drawstring hood, front pouch pocket, regular fit; sizes S–2XL.

River blue below the knee. The Metallic Blue Fractal joggers ($100; $105 in 2XL, $108 in 3XL) marble electric blue into navy from waistband to cuff, threaded with thin plum streaks. Fabric: 96% recycled polyester and 4% elastane (308 g/m²), soft-brushed vegan fleece inside, cotton-like outside, in a slim cut, XS–3XL.

Laurel pink on top. The Ophanim snapback ($40) spreads a pink-lavender winged figure around a cream orb with a gold center, while a dusky blue Flower of Life pattern and scattered stars cover the violet front and lavender glyphs ring the brim. Made of 150 g/m² polyester, it's one size and snaps to fit at the back: a cap for a sunny Red Wing afternoon.

For the campsites at Spirithaven, Pop's Farm and Arrington: our hooded blanket

Most of these festivals camp, and their nights run cool: 47.6°F is Floyd's May normal, 49.0°F Richmond's for October. When the tent chills after the last set, our hooded blanket ($150) takes over: a front pocket big enough for a headlamp, a quarter zip, a hood with cat ears, and 300 g/m² polyester fleece cut as one oversized 4XL pullover.

Working back from Memorial Day: Virginia order dates

Every date in the middle column gives our partners the full 25 business days a piece can take, 7–11 to make it and 6–14 to deliver it, so it reaches you by the weekday before the gates open. The right-hand column is five business days sooner, for breathing room. Weekends and federal holidays such as Memorial Day and Juneteenth don't count.

Other festivals' dates are in our 2027 made-to-order guide. Floyd County nights call for layers. If the Galactic Alien Oracle hoodie will ride under a cloak, size the cloak up once, or twice for extra layers, as our FAQ suggests. Since we can't take sizing returns, Lylyth would rather see your measurements at art@magusfawn.com before you order. Free US shipping kicks in at $70.

Pavilions, fiddle camps and a mountaintop deck

Galax's history page singles out the campground, where musicians rehearse, as a unique part of its convention. Virginia has more of those after-hours places: Spirithaven's pavilion once the temple has burned, the viewing deck by FloydFest's mountaintop campsites, a campground in Arrington. Pack the cloak for them. To travel farther afield, start with the must-attend festivals we've picked for 2027, the ones worth a flight.

From indigo to laurel pink, by collection: women's cloaks · snapback hats · men's cloaks · joggers · crushed velvet

Frequently asked questions

What do Kula and Bunga mean at Valley of the Seven Stars?

They are two of the festival's seven pillars, the shared values its community celebrates. Kula, "unified heart," means building a place where people feel they belong; Bunga, "wild abandon," balances life's serious side with play. The other five are Inclusion, Sovereign Self, Sharing, Leave No Trace and Curiosity.

Who benefits when you buy a Rooster Walk ticket?

Its home region. Rooster Walk Inc., a Martinsville–Henry County nonprofit, has raised more than $400,000 for local and regional charities. Each spring a Martinsville High School senior receives the Penn-Shank Memorial Scholarship, $4,000 over four years, and its Music Instrument Program, funded with more than $37,000, refurbishes donated band instruments for public school students.

Which FloydFest campground suits a hammock?

Canopy Camping. FloydFest's campground page describes it as wooded and shady, and especially well suited to hammocks; you bring your own gear and park separately. Each tent needs its own tag and gets a 15-by-15-foot footprint. Gear gets carried in from the parking areas, so the page advises planning for that walk and for natural ground.

Written by Magus & Lylyth Fawn, the Los Angeles artists behind Magus Fawn. Magus makes VR and digital visionary art and produces Psy EDM. Lylyth makes fractal digital art and runs design and customer care. We've been selling wearable art since 2020 (4.8★ from 147 reviews as of October 2026), and every piece is made to order here at magusfawn.com. Come say hi on Instagram @magusfawn.